Crows are now considered to be among the world's most intelligent animals. Crows and ravens often score very highly on intelligence tests. Certain species top the avian IQ scale. Crows have been found to engage in feats such as tool use, the ability to hide and store food across seasons, episodic-like memory, and the ability to use individual experience in predicting the behavior of environmental conspecifics. Recent research suggests that crows have the ability to recognize one individual human from another by facial features. Crows make a wide variety of calls or vocalizations. Whether the crows' system of communication constitutes a language is a topic of debate and study.

Two species of crow have been listed as endangered by the US fish and wildlife services: The Alala and the Mariana Crow.